A/N: Thank you, Danielle and Fritzen, for your reviews. I do appreciate all of your dedication to this story!
Danielle, no worries. Life happens. I, of all people, understand this to be true.
Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
Present Day
The smoky, soot-covered team returned to the bunker and regaled those there of the events that took place. Tenley worked on cleaning Wyatt's wound as they spoke. He had a superficial laceration to his temple and brow but it was the gash down his neck that brought concern as it would require numerous stitches to close up.
Lucy couldn't tear her eyes off of Wyatt's wound. She had seen the scar this wound would leave behind. She had seen it before when he chased them through the Met. She recalled wondering how he got it and when. Now her stomach twisted in painful knots as she realized this was the mission to do it.
"What happened to Abba Kovner?" Agent Christopher asked. "You didn't just leave him there for Rittenhouse to find?"
Quinn shook his head. "Once we got them out of the rubble," he started, motioning to Flynn and Wyatt, "Flynn and I scouted the area looking for Rittenhouse. They were long gone by the time we returned."
Agent Christopher turned to Lucy. "What does history say about him?" Lucy didn't acknowledge the question. She was too preoccupied with Wyatt's wound. Denise cleared her throat. "Lucy?"
Lucy blinked back to the present, turning to see several pairs of curious eyes staring at her with worry. With a sigh, she licked her lips. "Uh… he… he left vengeance aside and focused on teaching poetry at a university."
"And what about the thallium?" Denise asked, turning her attention back to Rufus and Quinn. "What did you do with that?" The two men exchanged glances. Rufus shifted in his place awkwardly. Denise's eyes narrowed on them. "What did you do?"
Rufus's head tilted to the side. "We uh…" he hesitated before admitting, "we sort of used it to start the fire."
Wyatt's head snapped up at the revelation. "You!?" he cried. "You caused the explosions? The fire? All of it?"
Rufus's shoulders shot up to his ears as his hands went out in defense. "We had to do something," he retorted. "We saw Emma going into the prison and-"
"Wait," Wyatt stopped him, "You saw Emma?"
Rufus nodded. "Yeah, and we knew we couldn't exactly knock on the front door of a prison to bail you out…" he stopped to think about what he said and nodded, choosing to skip the sarcastic remark he could have made.
Mason eyed Rufus. "Did...did you say you used that thallium to cause the explosions?"
Rufus's body language shifted to that of a child getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Maybe?"
Agent Christopher noticed Mason pinching the bridge to his nose in disapproval. She made a note to ask him about that later but there was a more pressing matter to discuss. "What happened with Emma?"
Rufus shuddered. "Well, she obviously met someone," he started, "hopefully charming but probably evil," everyone's brows drew together as he rambled on, "then I'm sure one thing led to another-"
"Rufus!" Christopher interjected, breaking him out of his rant. "What are you talking about?"
Rufus glanced about the group, stunned. "Oh, sorry," he said, "I thought we mentioned earlier that she was knocked up."
"What?!" Jiya exclaimed. "How did that happen?"
Rufus cocked his head to the side briefly. "Well, when two people - " Jiya smacked his arm. "Ow!" he gasped, holding his arm. "Oh! You meant like...of course, yeah, I have no idea."
Wyatt nodded. "I think it was a future version of her," he admitted. "We only caught a glimpse of her but she seemed... older."
"So, what did she want with Abba Kovner?" Christopher asked.
The team exchanged glances before Quinn cleared his throat. "I'm not sure she was even after him," he told Denise. "I think she was there for the team."
Flynn nodded in agreement, crossing his arms. "She was speaking to Eugen Weidmann."
Lucy's head snapped up at the mention of the name. "Weidmann?"
"Why does that name sound familiar?" Denise asked, glancing at the team.
Lucy turned her attention over to Agent Christopher. "We went back to Paris, 1938, about the time he was due to be publicly executed - "
"Count Dooku mission, right?" Rufus asked as he snapped his fingers with recognition. Lucy nodded.
Denise's brows drew together. "But you said he escaped and became part of Bloodstone," she recalled, turning her gaze to Quinn and Rowan. "So, what's your man doing with Emma?"
The brothers glanced at one another, clearly confused. "We don't know what yer talking about," Rowan admitted. "We've never worked with this Eugen Weidmann."
Wyatt motioned for Tenley to stop working on his wound for a moment. He stared down Rowan and Quinn. "What do you mean, you've never worked with him?" He turned his attention over to Flynn. "Didn't you see him dressed up as one of them?"
Flynn nodded, straightening as he turned to look at the brothers. "He was dressed in a black suit, just like the men who stopped his assassination," he stated, "just like every other Bloodstone agent we've encountered."
The brothers looked at one another briefly before Quinn licked his lips. "We've never worked with him."
"So, you're saying you're not Bloodstone?" Jiya asked, eyes darting between the two of them.
"I'm saying," Quinn sighed, "We haven't been a part of Bloodstone in quite some time." The room fell silent as they stared at him in disbelief. Quinn shifted his weight onto his other leg. "We're what ye'd call 'defectors' of the cause."
"Wait," Wyatt said. "Hold on...you're defectors? From your own crazy cult?"
Rowan shifted awkwardly in place, lifting his gaze to his brother. Quinn nodded. "We didn't agree with some of the changes that were taking place," he explained. "We didn't believe in the endgame."
Rufus muttered under his breath, "I could have sworn one of you was Reynolds."
"What do you mean by endgame?" Wyatt questioned. "What does Bloodstone want?"
"What they want," Quinn confessed, "hasn't changed despite so many other things that have."
A wave of silence washed over the room as they thought about it. Mason released a sharp gasp of realization as he came to the answer before anyone else. "You mean," he started, "Bloodstone is still after Tenley?" he turned to look at the doctor, "even after all of this time - after all of the changes to reality?"
Quinn's expression hardened as he nodded the confirmation. "They never stopped wanting her," he said.
"But why?" Lucy questioned, glancing over to Tenley. "Why would they be so pressed to find her?"
"Is this why you defected?" Jiya asked, turning back to Quinn and Rowan.
Agent Christopher held her hands up, stopping the onslaught of questions. "Hold on," she interjected. She glanced back at the brothers, asking, "What happened to Eugen Weidmann?"
Quinn shrugged. "Never heard of him," he stated again. "We'd have to hit the books again."
Wyatt groaned as Tenley finished patching him up. "More books?" he shook his head as he turned his gaze over to Denise. "Why not see if your friend at Homeland can help like last time?"
"Last time?" Rowan repeated. "What last time?"
"When Tenley disappeared," Mason began. "We got some help from Homeland Security to scour through images on the mainframe in hopes of discovering what happened to Flynn and Tenley."
Quinn's lips were twisted in thought before he turned to Denise. "Do ye trust him?"
"I think so," she answered. When she saw the look on Quinn's face, she nodded, changing her answer. "Yes. Of course, I do."
Quinn nodded curtly, glancing over to Rowan. "It's time. Let's show her."
"Show her what?" Wyatt questioned, narrowing his eyes at them suspiciously.
The brothers led everyone to the control room as Quinn entered first. He pushed the chair aside, approaching the far wall with the hanging calendar and bookcase. He pulled at one of the books gently until they heard a click echo within the room. The bookcase sunk inward, sliding out of the way, revealing another room.
Rufus's mouth dropped. "You've got a super-secret villain lair within your super-secret evil bunker?" he gasped, glancing at Rowan. "Who are you people?"
Quinn turned his attention back to the group. He motioned toward the newly opened room. "After ye, Agent Christopher."
She hesitated before she approached the opened wall. Peering inside, she saw the familiar glowing of lights coming from computers. She entered slowly, eyes wide, taking it all in. She blinked, asking, "This was here the whole time?"
Quinn chuckled. "We still needed a way to keep in touch with the outside world, yeah?" he commented, eyes taking in the stunned expressions staring back at him. "No one is ever really 'off the grid'."
Denise turned her attention back to him. "So, I can contact Homeland Security from here?"
Quinn nodded, pointing to a monitor. "This one will bring up their servers."
"It's linked to their mainframe?" Mason questioned.
Quinn glanced over his shoulder. "Ye think we don't have help in Homeland?"
Denise sat down at the monitor, typing to gain access to her Homeland Security server. As she navigated through the computer system, she stopped, eyes narrowing in confusion.
Mason noticed. "What's the matter?"
Agent Christopher continued typing, concern washing over her features. "Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong place…"
"What are you looking for?" Wyatt asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Denise ignored the probing questions as she continued scouring through the network. She sighed, leaning back into her chair. "He's dead?"
"Who?" Flynn pressed. "Who's dead?"
"Luke," Denise replied. "Luke McCann - "
"Wait," Jiya interrupted. "That guy who came helped us when Flynn and Tenley were missing?"
Agent Christopher nodded, turning her gaze over to the team. "Died in the line of duty," she stated, motioning to the monitor, "according to the systems."
Wyatt scoffed. "Died in the line of duty?" he repeated. "I thought he was a pencil pusher."
"Died of boredom," Rufus muttered. "Or assaulted by files." Jiya shot him a quick glance, eyes widening at him. He cleared his throat, shifting in his place. "Sorry."
Denise's lips twisted in thought before she started typing again. She hummed to herself before announcing, "He died shortly after he helped us."
"Do you think Rittenhouse found out he helped us?" Mason questioned.
"It's possible," Agent Christopher said with a shrug. "But now, this presents a whole new set of problems…"
"How so?" Wyatt asked.
Denise stood from the monitor, turning to the others. "It means we're on our own."
